How to reduce food waste in Singapore and start urban composting in an apartment

Pic source: Composting Kampung

I recently joined a webinar hosted by The Green Collective on Urban Composting as I had wanted to find ways to reduce my food waste. When I was staying in New York City, we kept all our vegetable scraps, egg shells, etc. and actively contributed our food scraps to GrowNYC's food scrap/ compost collection at the Greenmarket located in the Upper West Side (near Columbia University) on Thursdays and Sundays. When I came back to Singapore, food prep was no longer the same and I felt guilt when I threw away food scraps that could be composted.

Food waste is a contributor to greenhouse gases and it is important to reduce it. "If food waste goes to the landfill and rots, it produces methane—a greenhouse gas even more potent than carbon dioxide. About 11% of all the greenhouse gas emissions that come from the food system could be reduced if we stop wasting food. In the US alone, the production of lost or wasted food generates the equivalent of 37 million cars’ worth of greenhouse gas emissions." (source: WWF)

In Singapore, due to lack of land, waste is first incinerated and the ash is buried. "On the pro side, burning it cuts down the volume by up to 80 percent (the leftovers go to, you guessed it, the landfill). And the resulting emissions can still be captured to produce power. On the con side, incineration uses energy and produces more carbon emissions than bacterial digestion, plus it pollutes the air." (source: Grist)

Here are are couple of ways where you can reduce your food waste carbon footprint in Singapore:

1. Drop off your food scraps at the Food Digesters at selected hawker centres

These food waste digesters mix the food waste with microbes that digest and decompose the waste into non-potable water that can be used for washing and cleaning. More info on The Straits Times.

Based on the information I have at the moment, the digesters are located at the following hawker centres:

• Block 628 in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4
• Tiong Bahru Market
• Block 58 in New Upper Changi Road
• Block 16 in Bedok South Road

As compared to urban composting, where generally meat and bones are not encouraged as they give off a terribly foul smell during decomposition, these red bins that collect food waste for the food digesters allow almost all kinds of food waste.

These red bins that collect food waste for the food digesters allow meat, seafood, bones, fruits, vegetables, leftovers, rice, noodles and bread. Just make sure not to throw in non-food items such as cutlery, packaging, chemicals, hot liquids. 

Interestingly, I am not sure why coconut and sugar canes are not allowed. Perhaps they are too large to be broken down by the food digester...

Remember to store your food waste in your freezer first and when it's too much for your freezer to handle, you can make your way to the hawker centres and dispose them into the red bins.

2. Urban composting in your apartment with a compost bin

I haven't tried this at home but I'm sharing what I learnt from the webinar that could be helpful to some of you who are keen to do your part.

Step 1: Get a compost bin

Firstly, for urban composting, you will need to get a compost bin - they usually look like the above  and come with a cover (to prevent pests) and a tap where you can release the liquid. The goal is to break down the food waste in your own backyard, or rather, service yard for most of us, and the result of the decomposition/ fermentation is this "compost juice" that you can dilute and use as fertiliser for plants. The juice is rich in nutrients and you no longer need to buy fertiliser again!

Some tips for composting at home:

• Cut foods into smaller pieces to speed up the decomposition process. Even egg shells.
• Anything can go into the compost, but it is recommended to keep to vegetable scraps, fruit, fruit peels, egg shells, coffee grounds. Do not throw in bones, rotting food, excess fluid and oil into your compost bin. You can also add sugar to give the bacteria energy to quicken the break down process.
• Always cover the bucket or bin to prevent pests.
• Put a large paper towel at the bottom before you throw in your first food scraps to avoid have coffee grounds getting stuck at the tap area. You can always layer your food scraps with paper towels now and then to filter the juice that comes out of the tap.
• You can also add a compost accelerator (such as calcium carbonate) to speed up the process.

It will take about 3 to 4 days for the compost juice to form. Signs of fermentation include condensation, white mould and a sweet pickled-vinegary odour. White mould is your friend. If you get green or blue mould and the compost bin smells like death, it means that you got a spoiled bucket and the fermentation is not happening as it should. Frequent draining of the juice is important and before you use the juice on your plants, you must dilute it with water (minimally 1 part juice to 100 parts water).

The scraps need to be left in the compost bin for about 2 weeks to fully ferment. If the compost bin is full and you have new scraps, you can always store them in the freezer compartment first.

When the bin is full and done with fermenting, here's what you can do with the leftover scraps:

1. Compost it in your garden (but since this article is about composting within apartments, I think it's not very relevant so I shall not elaborate)
2. Build your own soil factory. Fill a vessel with soil and bury the scraps for 6 weeks. Feed the fertile soil to your plants at home!
3. Pass it on to someone else who can use the scraps (e.g. Urban Farmers or your local community garden if you have one nearby)
4. Dispose it as regular trash. You have done your part in reducing the carbon footprint and reducing the food waste that goes to trash. Don't feel guilty about it!

Most of the urban composting information came from the webinar that I mentioned at the very beginning.

While I am passionate about urban composting, I do have a lack of space in my service yard. I think I might very well start by contributing my food waste to the hawker centres first.

If you know of other ways to reduce food waste in Singapore please leave them in the comments!